OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between anthropometric indexes - body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) - and hypertension, and to evaluate the predictive value of these indexes in detecting hypertension. METHODS: Cross-sectional population study conducted in the city of Goiânia (GO) with a sample of 1,238 adults aged twenty to 64 years, in 2001. Total obesity was defined as BMI > 30 kg/m²; abdominal obesity was defined as level 2 WC > 88 cm for women and > 102 cm for men, and hypertension was defined as systolic pressure > 140 mmHg, or diastolic pressure > 90 mmHg, or utilization of hypotensive drugs). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations between anthropometric indexes and hypertension. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of BMI (> 30) and level 2 WC as predictive factors of hypertension, and to determine the best predictive cut-off points for hypertension. RESULTS: WC was associated with hypertension in both genders. Level 2 WC and BMI >30 kg/m² showed a low sensitivity in identifying hypertension. The best predictive cut-off points for hypertension coincided with level 1 WC (> 80 cm) and with BMI >25 kg/m² (overweight) for women, and were lower than the values of level 1 WC and of overweight for men. CONCLUSION: Level 2 WC and BMI > 30 kg/m² are not adequate to identify the groups at the highest risk of hypertension, since this risk rises with small increases in adiposity.
Waist circumference; body mass index; hypertension; prediction
